AS9100 - Quality Works Assists PDM Services in Quick Certification

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Quality Works helped a CNC precision machining company to achieve AS9100 certification from scratch in two and a half months.

Mark Kaganov

Bringing Quality Works in periodically struck the right balance for PDM Services, making us stand on our own feet but at the same time ensuring that we remained on track. It has been less costly than using a permanently assigned employee, so we were able to complete our AS9100 project on a very reasonable budget.

Lakewood, CO (PRWEB)June 2, 2009

A CNC and 5-axis precision machining company has achieved AS9100 certification from scratch in just two and a half month with the help of Quality Works. PDM Services, which manufactures high precision parts for aerospace and defense industries in a highly competitive market, turned to quality management specialists of Quality Works for strategic advice, training and consulting as it embarked upon its AS9100 certification project. After only two and a half months, PDM Services passed its audit with a recommendation for AS 9100 certification from an independent registrar.

PDM Services called in Quality Works to advise the company in the beginning of March 2009. PDM Services manufactures high-precision parts and components for its clients who required PDM Services to obtain and maintain an AS9100 compliant quality management system. Having already developed good reputation and business relationships with its clients, PDM Services believed that certification to AS9100 will significantly enhance its reputation further and increase its credibility in the marketplace, while internally establishing strong mechanisms for process improvement and cost reduction.

Quality Works guided the company through several initial stages, including the appointment of the Management Representative, selection of a project management methodology and training of the project team. All team members attended an AS9100 training course, which explained the purpose of the standard and the particular requirements related to the airspace industry. The Owner and the Management Representative, Gary Vaillancourt, also attended a more detailed course, which covered the entire standard, implementation process, documentation, management review and preparation for a successful certification audit. Vaillancourt commented, "We were extremely pleased with the training, which was simple to understand, yet very informative and helpful."

Quality Works then developed an AS9100 quality management system implementation plan tailored to the PDM Services' business environment. In guiding the client through implementation of the management system, Quality Works focused on optimization of documentation and reduction of paperwork to support effective management system and establish environment for continual process improvement. Periodic reviews of the quality system took place following completion of the Quality Policy, Quality Manual, definition of the key processes, completion of the product realization process and again during internal audits prior to the two-stage independent assessment.

Speaking about Quality Works' contribution, Vaillancourt said, "Bringing Quality Works in periodically struck the right balance for PDM Services, making us stand on our own feet but at the same time ensuring that we remained on track. It has been less costly than using a permanently assigned employee, so we were able to complete our AS9100 project on a very reasonable budget."

Quality Works' Director of Operations and the Lead Consultant for the project Mark Kaganov commented: "PDM Services project was our most rapid implementation of an AS9100 quality management system. Complete dedication of the Management Representative and the entire team to the project definitely played major role in such a success."

About Quality Works:
Quality Works is the one-stop-shop for information, documentation sets, training, auditing and consulting in the areas of ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001 and AS9100 quality and environmental management systems. It is an international authority on management systems and has published a number of authoritative publications and documentation systems. Quality Works approaches management system issues from a non-technology background and talks to client's management in their own language. Its customer base spans the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. More information on services and products provided worldwide by Quality Works is available at http://www.quality-works.com.